Oh, hey Dani!
by panfan87
Summary: Valerie is thinking about the human/ghost girl she rescued a few months back. Suddenly Danielle shows up and could use some help. What trouble has this little girl gotten herself into? And just how does she know Danny Fenton? Post D-Stabilized, no-PP.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Valerie is thinking about the human/ghost girl she rescued a few months back. Suddenly Danielle shows up and could use some help. What trouble has this little girl gotten herself into? And just how does she know Danny Fenton? Post D-Stabilized, no-PP. Enjoy!

"My shift's done, I'm heading out!" Valerie yelled to her boss as she began washing her hands. Working at the Nasty Burger wasn't the greatest job, but manning the register beat dressing up in that stupid costume everyday. And while her uniform had a permanent french fry stench and she was using twice as much shampoo to get the residual grease out of her hair, at least she was earning money. Lately, she'd even been able to take on more hours at the burger joint, now that she wasn't as gung-ho about catching that pesky ghost boy, Danny Phantom.

Since rescuing his cousin two months back, Valerie had kept up her truce with the ghost kid. She still hated his guts, but his cousin, Dani, was pretty awesome. The half-ghost/half-human thing still blew her mind, but whatever. She figured Dani wouldn't want Val to start fighting Phantom again, so she had backed off. The other reason Valerie had reduced her ghost fighting the past few months was to subconsciously distance herself from that suit. Which was difficult, considering that mullet-sporting ghost had somehow bonded it to her. But the suit had been given to her by Vlad, that evil, manipulating scumbag…

Valerie took a deep breath. It wasn't worth getting worked up again about it. Yeah, so she had been pretty stupid as a 14-year-old to accept a expensive and dangerous equipment from a stranger. But that didn't change the fact that she felt so, well, violated by that creep. He had convinced her to capture Dani, a human! And he was experimenting on her! If she hadn't listened to Phantom…

Another deep breath. She had cycled through these same thoughts over and over again since that night, it did no good to dwell on them now, not when she actually had a Saturday afternoon free.

Valerie finished clocking out and grabbed her bag from the break-room. After a quick stop in the Nasty Burger restroom to change and douse herself in cologne (a vain attempt to mask that fried food odor), Valerie headed out to the park, intent on enjoying the day reading and relaxing.

However, she had only gone two blocks when her plans immediately changed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dani had been flying for hours. And still, she hadn't managed to lose the big metal creep of a ghost.

"Where are you, little halfa? If I can't have the whelp's pelt, I'll just use yours to decorate my lair!"

_Eww, that's so wrong,_ thought Dani as she peeked out around the dumpster she was crouched behind. When she saw Skulker fly past she paused only a moment before losing the ghost form and changing back into a human.

_I've gotta find Danny_, she thought. _He helped me with Vlad, maybe he can help me with this guy._ She hadn't intended on incurring the curiosity of the ghost zone's greatest hunter. It just so happened that she was on her way to hang out with Dora in the ghost zone and didn't feel like flying around one of the larger floating islands. So she turned human to walk through it. It wasn't her fault Skulker witnessed her transformation! She hadn't even made it close to Dora's kingdom before the hunter announced his pursuit (why he bothered to announce it, she wasn't sure. He had probably been hanging out with Technus too much lately). So now she was officially on his MVP list (Most Valuable Pelt) and fearing for her life. After hours flying through the zone, she had miraculously stumbled upon a natural portal. Fortunately she made it through to the human world before the portal closed. Unfortunately, so had Skulker. The portal hadn't been far from Amity Park, which was where she was currently hiding out.

Dani crept out from behind the dumpster, then made a run for it out of the alleyway, onto the sidewalk, and straight into another person.

"Hey, watch it, I… wait,_ Dani_? Is that you?"

Dani glanced up from her current splayed position on the ground into the face of that ghost hunter girl from a few months ago. Dani hesitated, should she run for it? The girl had tricked her into getting Danny captured and herself turned over to Vlad. But Valerie had also helped her cousin rescue her from said fruit-loop. She didn't have long to ponder before Valerie spoke up,

"Oh man, I was just thinking about you! What are you doing here? What have you been up to? By the way, you can stop looking at me like that, I'm not gonna hurt you. Sheesh girl, we're cool!" Valerie grinned and offered reached down to help her up. Dani returned the smile and accepted the outstretched hand.

"Thanks! I'm actually looking for Danny, have you seen him?"

"Danny? How do you know... oh, you mean Phantom." Valerie still wasn't used to using his full name, it was usually Phantom, Ghost Boy, or Ectoplasmic Scum in her mind. And there's no way Dani could be asking about the Danny that Vl knew from school.

"Yeah, see there's this crazy ghost after my pelt -"

"Where are you, mini-whelp? I need to finish redecorating," a voice boomed from down the street.

"I take it you mean that guy," Valerie frowned. "Well, I haven't seen Phantom in a while, but you're with me now. And I can handle any stupid ghost."

As Skulker's voice sounded again, Dani took only a split second to decide that, yes, Val was indeed capable of handling any ghost and for now, would be better than facing the dude on her own.

"Sounds good to me! Any place we can hide?" Dani's stomach grumbled, "Preferably a place with food?"

**Thanks for the support y'all! I'm having fun with this short story :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

She couldn't believe it. Not twenty minutes after escaping the french-fry infused restaurant, Valerie found herself back at the Nasty Burger. Dani was fresh out of cash, so Valerie had used her employee discount to treat the girl to a Double Nasty Special. Five minutes after sitting down, Dani was already halfway through burger number two and the fries were long gone.

Valerie lifted an eyebrow, "Hungry, huh?" she smirked.

"Mhmhmm, dhish ish dweshish!" Valerie chuckled a little as the girl polished off the rest of the sandwich and reached for her chocolate milkshake. "Shanksh fwa dwa fwood, Wawawie."

"No problem, ghost girl. You want any more?"

Dani finally swallowed and glanced down at the mess of wrappers around her. "No, I'm good." She let a belch and blushed, "Oh, uh, you didn't want any, did you?"

Valerie chuckled again, "Nah, when you work here, the food becomes much less appetizing. But if you enjoyed it, then I'm happy." Dani blushed again and looked away sheepishly.

Figuring the girl wasn't going to open up without some prodding, Valerie asked, "So, I haven't seen you since the Vlad thing? What have you been up to?"

Dani shrugged, "Oh, mostly floating around the ghost zone, making some friends, apparently making some enemies." She waved her hands in the direction of the door as if to indicate the hunter who was likely still somewhere in Amity Park. "Just generally exploring, enjoying my freedom, and DANNY!"

Danielle bolted from the booth and ran towards the front door. Valerie whipped around wondering what the heck Phantom was doing at the Nasty Burger with no ghosts around. Only it wasn't Phantom she saw. Walking in through the doors at that moment were Fenton, Foley, and Manson. Confused, Valerie got up and followed Dani to the front of the restaurant. As she got closer she could hear Dani rambling to Fenton in a rush,

"- but then he came through too, and he's still chasing me and -" "Whoa there," Fenton held up his hands, "I didn't get a word of that. Let's restart. Hi Danielle, nice to see you." Danny's voice shot up an octave, "Hi Danny, nice to see you too." Lowering his voice back to normal, he continued, "Ok, cuz, now what's up?"

Dani took a deep breath, "Skulker's after me, so I was looking for you. But I ran into Valerie, and she helped me get away from him."

By this point, Valerie had made it to trio and was standing awkwardly behind Dani, the confusion evident on her face. When Dani mentioned her, the three friends looked up and Danny visibly paled. "Oh, uh, hi Valerie," he said, nervously rubbing the back of neck.

"How do you two know each other?" She demanded.

"They're cousins" Foley chimed in quickly. Danny turned and shot him a glare that clearly said, you're not helping. Tucker looks abashed and took a little step backwards.

Sam, on the other hand, took a step forward. "How do _you two_ know eachother?" She asked accusingly, pointing between the huntress and the little girl. Valerie shot Manson a glare back. "We happen to be friends. You gotta problem with?" Then Tucker's words seemed to sink in. Valerie turned to Dani, "wait, cousins? I thought _you-know-who_ was your cousin?" Valerie whispered the last part. After all, the last thing she wanted to do was reveal to the son of two gung-ho ghost hunters that Dani was related to their arch-enemy Phantom.

Danielle just gave Valerie an equally confused look back, "Uh yeah, he is," she replied, gesturing towards Danny.

Danny's eyes shot up and he grabbed her hand, "Uh, Dani, why don't we get going, you can stay at my place until Skulker is, uh, taken care of," he said, hurriedly, dragging her towards the door.

"Wait!" Valerie followed the pair and grabbed Dani's other hand. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?" asked Dani.

Geez, was Valerie really going to have to spell it out for her? "Because it's probably not a good idea to be around all the dangerous _ghost-hunting_ equipment I'm sure the Fenton's have," she whispered to Danielle, hoping she'd get the hint. Instead she heard Sam scoff, "Oh, right, and have her hang out with you instead, she's going to be so much safer." Valerie whirled around and was about to reply when she realized the meaning behind Sam's words. "you, but, how, I," Valerie fumbled. "Ugh I don't have time for this. Look Danielle's perfectly safe with me. I'm not letting her go with you."

Danielle gave her another strange look. "But this_ is_ mrghrm" Danny had quickly slammed his hand around her mouth. He grimaced and turned back to Valerie, "Look, Val, I know you don't believe me, but Dani is safe with me too, I'll look out for her." "_Seriously_," he added at the doubtful expression on her face.

Then the four of them were out the door, leaving Valerie with nothing but her own thoughts and the smells of the Nasty Burger. She blinked a couple times and exclaimed to no one in particular, "okay, what the _heck_ was that?"

**A/N - Thanks to Inviso-Al, clara oswin oswald 16, and shin obin for reviewing. And to Kira Sema, shin obin, amazingkingxman, 1eragon33 for adding it to your favorites. I hope you guys continue to enjoy it, I plan on updating daily. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to Snowleopard0, TerraOfLight, , kebby7130, HeroXLink, nicktoons5, and clara oswin oswald 16 for reviewing the previous chapter. You guys totally rock!**

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**Chapter 4 - Enjoy!**

Valerie went back to her booth to think. Somehow, Dani and Danny knew each other. Tucker had said they were cousins, and obviously Danny hadn't wanted her to know that. Did Danny know about Dani being half ghost? Did he know about her being the red huntress? No, there was no way... But Sam's comment... If they knew she WA the huntress, maybe Danny really was trying to protect Danielle. Just like she had tried to protect Danny by dumping him. Ugh, how could she verify that they knee without telling them, you know, in case they didn't?

Her musings were interrupted by a loud scream from outside and a familiar voice, "ah, two whelps for the price of one, this is my lucky day!"

_Dani!_

Valerie hurried out the employees only exit in the back of the restaurant, and after a cursory glance to make sure she was alone, activated her suit. She flew off towards the sound of a second scream.

As she arrived on the scene to see Danielle caught in a glowing, ghost-proof net, Tucker frantically typing on his PDA and Sam aiming a wrist-ray ecto-gun at Skulker. Skulker, meanwhile was hovering about ten feet up, fending off green blasts from none other than Danny Phantom. None of them had noticed her yet.

"TUCKER, hurry it up will ya!" Phantom called, as he shot another blast at the metal mohawk ghost.

"I'm trying," the boy replied, "but this dude updated his suit again and this baby," he waved the PDA, "can only do so much. Now, if I had the UltraTech 5000…"

"Not the time Tuck!" Shouted Sam as she also continued to blast the ghost.

Danny turned towards her, "Sam, can you get the thermos? It's in my -"

Suddenly a net shot out of Skulker's suit, hitting Phantom, cutting him off mid-sentence. Now he was as helpless as as his cousin. Or Danny's cousin, rather. Speaking of Danny, Valerie glanced around and realized Fenton was conspicuously absent from the fight. Had he really left his best friends and relative to fend off this crazy hunter ghost by themselves? That didn't sound like the Danny she knew. Her musings were once again interrupted as Skulker turned his blaster towards Sam. Now, Valerie may not like Manson all that much, but she wasn't about to let the girl get hurt by a ghost. Valerie called up her own ectogun, aimed it at the hunter's back and fired. Perfect shot. The ghost yelled and spun around to face his new attacker.

"Not so tough now, are you ghost scum," she smirked, keeping her gun trained on the hunter. He was about to reply, but was cut off as an alarm sounded on his wrist.

"What?! Go to zoo to observe purple-back gorillas? No!" He shouted as he shot in the air and flew off in the direction of the zoo.

"Uh, okay that was weird," said Valerie as she landed next to Danielle, who was still trapped in the net. Reaching into her boot, she pulled out a large hunting knife. The eyes of the two teens widened and they rushed over. "What are you doing!" they shouted.

"Back off, geez. I'm not going to hurt her. I'm getting her out the net. Unless you have something else in your little arsenal that can slice through ghost-proof material." Not waiting for a response, she bent down and started sawing at the ropes.

"Hey girl," she softened her voice as she addressed Danielle, "you're fine now. Told ya you should've stuck with me," she grinned as the last of the net fell from the ghost girl.

"And you," she said, walking towards Phantom, who was still trapped in the net, "what would you have done if I hadn't shown up, hmm?" She knelt down and started cutting his ropes.

Phantom rolled his eyes, "Okay, fine, thank you Val for showing up," he pouted, clearly not happy that he was at her mercy in this situation.

Valerie froze. He had just called her Val - in front of Tucker and Sam! Would they put it together that the Val in the suit was the same Valerie they knew from school. Phantom didn't seem to realize his slip-up, though he did notice that she had stopped sawing. "Uh, Val, uh why'd you stop?" Valerie glanced surreptitiously towards Sam and Tucker. Had they noticed his careless spillage of her secret identity? Their faces were worried and a little apprehensive, but no dawning realization seemed to be present, so she was probably safe. Growling a little, Valerie finished slicing the ropes and helped pull him out.

Once he was free, Dani rushed over and enveloped him in a giant hug. "Thank you! I'm so glad you're okay!" She let go, then surprised Valerie by embracing her in an equally bone crushing hug, "Thank you too!"

"Ah. Can't. Breath." Valerie choked out. Dani quickly stepped back and blushed. "Sorry. But I'd be a goner if it hadn't been for you guys."

"Hey, what about me?" Tucker whined. "I am that one that actually got rid of him," he said, waving his PDA again.

"You sent him to observe purple back gorillas? Why?" questioned Valerie.

"You got something against gorillas?" Sam challenged.

"No, just seems odd, that's all." Valeried replied back. "Nice wrist-ray by the way." Sam looked taken aback by the compliment. "Uh, thanks."

There was an awkward pause, then Phantom and Valerie spoke at the same time,

"Well, we better get going."

"Where's Danny?"

Another pause and Valerie could see Tucker and Sam searching for an excuse. It was Danielle who answered first, "what do you mean, Val, he's right there," she said, pointing at Phantom. Oh, right, she forgot that the ghost was also named Danny. Two Dannys and a Dani. It was making her head hurt.

"No, I mean Fenton. He was with y'all when you left the Nasty Burger and that was only a few minutes ago." Shit, did she say that aloud! Now they were bound to know it was her in the red suit.

Dani just gave her look she was either really confused or totally crazy. But it was Tucker spoke up this time, "He, uh, he went home to get more ghost fighting equipment! From his parents, uh, yeah, that's right, he's at home!"

Sam, on the other hand, was giving Valerie a calculated look and she could imagine the gears turning in her head. _Please don't let her put it together!_ Valerie internally pleaded. She glanced at Phantom, who began nodding vigorously in agreement with Tucker's excuse.

"Yeah, he went home, to uh," he faltered and rubbed the back of neck, "get equipment." The action reminded her of Fenton earlier that day. She tilted her head as she stared at the ghost. Now that she thought about it, a lot about the ghost kid reminded her of Fenton. They had the same mannerisms, the same first name, the same cousin, and he seemed to be friends with Manson and Foley.

Except that he was a ghost and Fenton wasn't. Besides, it's not like a human and ghost could possibly - Valerie glanced down at Dani - _be the same person_. Oh god. They _could_ be the same person. Living proof that someone could be half ghost and half human was standing right there in front of her! But Fenton and Phantom? The sweet kid she'd briefly dated and the spook that ruined her life. There was no way… she glanced back down at Dani. The black hair and blue eyes that really did look a lot like…

Oh god, she was going to be sick.

"Hello, uh, earth to Valerie, are you -" Phantom was interrupted as Valerie ripped off her helmet and chucked what was left of her lunch. Great, even though she refused to eat the food she served, working there still made her vomit smell like the Nasty french fries.

"Now that's just nasty." Tucker aptly remarked, wrinkling his nose as he lept backwards to avoid the spew.

"Hang on. _Valerie Grey!_ Valerie _you're_ the Red Huntress?" Sam asked, her voice dripping with mock surprise.

Valerie sighed, wiped her mouth with her glove, then retracted her suit. "Yeah, guess that secret's out." She narrowed her eyes at Sam, "but if you tell anyone, you will regret it."

Danielle piped up, "Wait, but you guys already knew that Valerie was the huntress!" Valerie narrowed her eyes at Sam, "Is that so? AND JUST HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN!" she shouted.

Sam just rolled her eyes, "Fine, yeah, we knew. Since you started really. And no, we haven't told anyone and we won't tell anyone. Truth be told, you're a pretty kick-ass ghost fighter. When you're not, you know, trying to waste Phantom," Sam said, nodding in Danny's direction.

Valerie turned back to the ghost, no,_ the human?_, she had been threatening to kill the past two years. Oh god, she felt like puking again. Swallowing the buildup of bile in her throat, she addressed the ghost. "Yeah, sorry about that," Valerie avoided his gaze.

"Hey, you didn't waste me this time, which, by the way, I totally appreciate." He held out a hand, "bygones?" Meeting his eyes, she nodded and shook his hand.

Feeling a little better, her face broke into a smirk, "So, Danny, do tell. Just how long have you been half-ghost?"

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**A/N - So y'all, do I continue this story or cut it off here and leave the rest to your imaginations?**


	5. Chapter 5

**By popular demand, I shall continue the story...**

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"WHAT?!" shouted Phantom, Foley, and Manson simultaneously.

Phantom started to hover, resuming his nervous tic of rubbing his neck. "I mean, why would you think, who said that I…"

Valerie just raised an eyebrow at him.

Danny couldn't seem to formulate a cohesive response, so Sam intervened. "Look Val, I don't know why you'd think that, but you're wrong."

"No she's not."

The four teens turned to the youngest of the bunch who had until now been rather quiet.

"Danielle…" Danny warned, through gritted teeth.

"Danny, I don't see what the big deal is. She knows I'm half ghost. I thought you would have told her you were too, after you both saved me from Vlad." She put her hands on her hips and shot her 'cousin' the nastiest death stare she could manage. "Or are you like him. Lying and manipulative."

"I'm not like Vlad!" Danny yelled, startling Valerie.

"Yeah, prove it." retorted Danielle, still holding her stare.

Danny fidgeted, glancing between the angered half-ghost, the smirking huntress, and the worried goth. After a beat, his face steeled and he seemed to have made up his mind.

"Fine."

"Danny, uh, I don't think its a good idea," Sam said quickly, while Tucker nodded vigorously behind her.

"Guys, she already knows," Danny turned back to Valerie, "don't you." Valerie just smirked again. "Somehow you figured it out. You always were pretty smart. And stubborn," he frowned, "guess it's only fair."

Valerie yelped in surprise as suddenly two white rings formed around his waist and traveled up and down his body respectively. Valerie shut her eyes from the blinding light. When she opened them again, there stood Danny Fenton where Phantom had just been.

Now, it's one thing to think through something in your head. It's a whole other thing to have your crazy, never-should-happen suspicions proved correct. Valerie felt the bile rise in her throat again, but she swallowed it, with considerable effort. She glanced at the Danny's two friends. They didn't look surprised, of course.

She turned back to Danny. "Damn! You really are, I mean, I didn't think, oh man!" Valerie crept forward and poked him. She frowned. It was, well, fleshy, and a little cold, but not ghostly. Needing more proof, she grabbed his wrist and began feeling for a pulse.

"Ow! What are you doing?" Valeried gasped as she felt the blood pumping through his veins. She dropped his wrist and took a step back, shaking her head.

"Val, you okay?" asked Tucker, tentatively.

She nodded. "Yeah. It's just...how does it work? And what do your parents think about all this?" She wrinkled her nose. "Maybe we can talk about this somewhere else, and I can get cleaned up a bit?"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N - Sorry for the long wait. I had a severe case of writer's block on this story. But thanks for all the kind reviews, and especially thanks to TicklesLikeCrazy for motivation to keep this fic alive.

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Valerie was back at the Nasty Burger for the third time that day. She had dumped her bag in the break-room earlier and luckily had an extra shirt. Unfortunately she didn't have a toothbrush, so gargling water was all she could do to rinse the taste of vomit from her mouth. While in the bathroom, she let her mind wander and she pondered the revelations of the past hour. The whole half-ghost concept had bugged her when she first met Dani. The implications of such a creature gnawed at her and she tried unsuccessfully to reason out how such a thing was possible. With Dani, she had assumed it was a sick science experiment gone terribly wrong. Why else would the girl have begun melting into goo! With Vlad, she presumed it was a similar thing - creepy billionaire scientist wants ghost powers, and turns himself into a half-ghost. But now that Danny had these powers too… She shook her head. No use continuing with the speculations if Danny was going to explain it all. And he better explain or he was going to have a very angry ghost-hunter to contend with.

The huntress walked out of the break-room and spied the foursome sitting at the same booth she and Dani had been at earlier. As she approached, Danielle scooted over to make room for her. The little ghost girl was half-way through a nasty burger and Valerie marveled at the appetite of such a little thing.

"It's her metabolism. Being a ghost uses a lot of energy," interjected Danny, as if reading her thoughts.

"Yeah, so, you gonna explain all this ghost/human stuff or what? And maybe give a little explanation as to why you ruined my life, Phantom," Valerie spat out the last word with more venom than she anticipated. Although the truce had dulled some of her antagonism towards him, Valerie still hadn't completely forgiven or forgotten the ghost boy's past transgressions. His revelation as Fenton meant she had to reconcile her anger against the ghost with the lingering affection and friendship she shared with the human.

Danny winced, "Shh, keep it down. It's a secret identity for a reason, Val." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Look, I'll explain everything, just let me talk and don't interrupt."

"But I -" Dani elbowed her in the side and narrowed her eyes at Valerie. "Whet dwa man twak, Wawawie," she said, while giving Valerie an unappetizing glimpse at post-chewed hamburger.

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Fine." She turned towards Danny, "lay it on me ghost boy. I want to know everything."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Two hours later, Valerie's head was reeling. In a whispered voice, so as not to be overheard, Fenton had told her about his accident and Vlad's accident, his powers, his reputation in the ghost zone, the misunderstandings with regards to the mayor and the ghost-dog, and the reason Vlad took such pains to manipulative the pair of them. Sam and Tucker had interjected a few times with comments or additions, but for the most part, it had been Danny talking the whole time. Valerie had kept her word and kept her mouth shut during the entire story, despite the barrage of questions floating through her brain, demanding to be let out. When Fenton finished his tale, the group was silent. Valerie wasn't sure where to start in getting her questions answered.

But it was Danielle who broke the silence first. "Even I didn't know all that, Danny. And Vlad said he told me everything. Although to be fair, he also lied about a lot of other stuff, so why not that." Her face darkened at the mention of the evil halfa. Valerie considered the small girl for a second then asked one of the more pressing questions that had arisen in her mind during Fenton's spiel.

"So, you told me how you and Vlad got your powers, did Danielle get them the same way, through some sort of accident?" Valerie asked, directing the question at Fenton.

Sam piped up, "Actually, Tucker and I were kind of wondering that too. You never really explained how your cousin ended up with ghost powers."

"Or told us the details about what happened in Colorado when we had to rescue you," added Tucker, "and dude, you always tell us everything!"

Valerie widened her eyes at this. She knew how tight their little 'loser' group could be and was therefore surprised that Danny hadn't given any details about his cousin to his two best friends. She wondered how much detail he had provided to them regarding her own adventure with Phantom and Dani two months ago.

Danny looked sheepish. "Well, it's complicated. And creepy. Probably the creepiest thing from Vlad yet, and that's saying something." He turned to look at Danielle, "you gonna be okay if I tell them?" Danielle paused, then nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I've come to terms with most of it over the past year. You can tell them."

At this point, Valerie, Tucker, and Sam were literally sitting on the edge of their seats, dying to know what the big secret was. Danny took a deep breath, "Vlad wanted me as his 'perfect half-ghost son.' When I refused, and he realized he'd never get the real me, he resorted to making a substitute. Only, he wasn't very good at it and most of them were screwed up, and unstable. They all melted…" Danny trailed off and grimaced, as if remembering something very unpleasant.

"Danny what exactly are you getting at? And what does it have to to with Danielle?" Valerie demanded, exasperated. Danny took another glance at his 'cousin', then squared his sholders.

"Dani is my clone."


	7. Chapter 7

Valerie, Tucker, and Sam merely blinked at Danny. Then they looked at each other. Valerie could tell they had the same thought she did, so she spoke up first. "Uh, Danny, Danielle is a girl."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, a clone is a genetic duplicate. Since you're a boy and she's a girl, she can't be your clone. That's not how it works. Besides, she's like twelve, and unlike in movies, a clone would grow at the same rate as a reg-, as a non-cloned person." Valerie stopped herself from implying that Danielle wasn't a regular person. She continued, "Vlad would have cloned you when you were a toddler, long before you got ghost powers."

"Though it pains me to say it, she's right, Danny," added Sam, "Danielle can't be your clone. You should pay more attention in biology."

"Argh, sorry if I was out saving the world instead of listening to Lancer drone on about frog anatomy or whatever."

"Frogs were the beginning of freshman year!" Sam exclaimed. "Have you learned _nothing_ in class since then? Danny, you really need to -"

"But Vlad told me I was a clone!" Danielle cried, interrupting Sam's rant and saving Danny from a long lecture about responsibility by his (not-yet-)girlfriend. "He would call me his daughter, but I knew that I wasn't, not really. And then he said I was different from the other clones, but he lied about that too. I know, 'cause I was melting a-and, then the other clones…" The girl was on the brink of tears.

Valerie reached out and patted her knee, "Hey there, ghost girl. We'll figure it out. Vlad is a total creep; you shouldn't believe anything he says. Besides, it doesn't matter who or what you were. You're here now and you're safe. I promise."

Danny reached across the table and grasped his cousin's hand. "Exactly. You're here now and not melting anymore, that's what matters."

Dani nodded as she sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the edge of her sleeve. "I -I guess you're right. But if I'm not a clone, then what am I? I know you said it doesn't matter to you," she shot at look at Danny who had opened his mouth to protest, "but it matters to me."

"We could do a DNA test or something," said Tucker, his hand stroking his chin, despite the absence of any facial hair. "Although I'm not sure where we'd get the tech to do it."

Sam cocked her head, "Danny, doesn't your mom have genetic testing equipment? She ran all those tests on us when Tucker and I had the ecto-acne, and I'm pretty sure she took DNA samples."

"Wait," Valerie held up her hands, "isn't that what you said Vlad had in the 80s that gave him ghost powers? How did you guys get it? And why didn't you get ghost powers from it too?"

"The ecto-acne was a symptom, not the cause, of his powers. The portal blowing up in his face was the cause, just like Danny's portal accident. He infected us with the acne to force Danny and his parents to look for a cure for that symptom. Just another way the guy was a manipulative fruit-loop. But that's besides the point. We could use Mrs. Fenton's equipment to compare Dani and Danny's DNA. That would clinch whether she's a clone of him or… somethi-, someone else."

Danielle brightened at the idea, but Fenton looked upset. "Sam, I don't even know where that stuff would be, and even if I did, I wouldn't have a clue how to use it."

"Why don't you just ask your parents?" suggested Valerie. Danny just gaped at her. "Right, like I'm going to just willingly hand over my _ghostly_ DNA to my _ghost-hunter_ parents. Yeah, that would go over so well."

Valerie narrowed her eyes at him, "Hang on, you're telling me your parents don't know?" Before Danny could respond, she continued, her voice steadily getting louder, "you rat me out to my dad and your parents don't even have a clue? You _hypocrite_!" Danny obviously had not expected such an outburst. His cheeks had turned a dark crimson and he looked like he wanted to simply phase through the back of his seat. It was surprising he hadn't already done so. Tucker and Sam squirmed uncomfortably, both coming to the conclusion that this was not a fight in which they wanted to intervene.

"That was different," Danny mumbled.

"Oh really?" continued Valerie, her voice loud enough that a few neighboring patrons had turned their attention to the group of teenagers. "And tell me why I shouldn't return the 'favor' and call your parents right now, hmm?" At that Danny's eyes widened.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, Valerie, please," Danny pleaded, "I'm sorry I ratted you out to your dad, but with my parents, _ugh_, look it's complicated and I'll tell them sometime, probably, maybe, but it has to come from me. Please!" Danny looked so wild-eyed and desperate that Valerie sighed and relented.

"Fine," she grumbled, her voice returning to a lower decibel, "I won't tell your parents. But I think _you_ should. Especially if it means we can get answers for Danielle. I mean, just look at that face!" On cue, Danielle stuck out her bottom lip and donned her best puppy dog eyes.

"Please, favorite cousin in the whole wide world? Pretty, pretty please with vanilla icing and tiny astronaut sprinkles on top?" Danny laughed as Danielle clasped her hands together and continued to milk the puppy-dog look. Then he turned towards his two best friends.

"Sam, Tuck, what do you think? You guys are a part of this as much as I am."

"Dude, whatever you think is best. It's your secret. But hey, I've got your back, man, no matter what. Best bros for life!" Tucker held out his hand and he and Danny proceeded to complete a full 30 second choreographed handshake routine. When their 'jazz hands' finally indicated the bro-bonding was done, Danny turned his attention to the goth girl sitting on the other side of him.

"Sam?"

"I think you two should get a room. Oh, you meant about telling your parents. Well, as much as I like the way things are now, it would be nice not to have to hide from them and fight off evil ghosts. And after the whole reality gauntlet thing, you know that they accepted you once. I'm sure they'll do it again. Though I could totally see your dad wanting you to be his sidekick." This comment elicited a snort from Tucker and a giggle from Dani. Valerie was about to ask what the "reality gauntlet" thing was, but decided that she probably didn't want to know.

Sam continued, "but at the end of the day, I agree with Tucker. Don't get used to it. They are y_our_ parents and it's _your_ secret. Whatever you decide, I'm on board. Of course, you're deluded if you think this means I'm doing some stupid secret handshake with you."

Danny sighed and dropped his head down onto the table. The other four teens watched him quietly, awaiting his decision. After a couple of minutes, he raised his head, his countenance one of resigned determination.

"Let's go tell my parents."


End file.
